Yorkshire Water employee to drink just tap water for WaterAid

Katie has signed up to the challenge and has set a fundraising target of £100, which will be donated to WaterAid to improve access to clean water and sanitation for people in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Katie, 33, works for Yorkshire Water as a software developer.

She said: “I thought it would be a good challenge to help detox after the Christmas and New Year festivities and give me an incentive to cut down on the amount of tea I drink.

“I am quite partial to a glass of Pinot Grigio but I think the biggest challenge is going to be not being able to have my morning cuppa on a weekend and the tea breaks throughout the day at work.”

Yorkshire Water has raised over £433,188 for WaterAid in the last two years to support its projects in Ethiopia.

The company aims to raise £1m by 2020 and bring an end to the unnecessary deaths caused by dirty water.

Katie’s fundraising efforts will help people in some of the world’s poorest communities, such as 21-year-old Esnart Phiri in Malawi, whose only water source is a muddy hole outside her village that is often contaminated.

Esnart, said: “My day starts when I have to collect water. I go around 3am to get in line in case there is a queue.

“It’s hard for me to give my child the water after seeing how he suffers from diarrhoea.

“For my family to have access to safe and clean water would mean a lot because we would live a healthy and happy life.”

Esnart’s village in Malawi will receive clean water and toilets this winter as part of WaterAid’s ‘Made of the Same Stuff’ appeal.

To sponsor Katie’s just water challenge visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katieleighsimmons.